Russell C. Gabriel and other UGA faculty receive support for research on poverty

Athens, Ga. – For the fifth consecutive year, University of Georgia faculty have been awarded grants to support creative scholarship on issues related to poverty. The Poverty and the Economy Faculty Research Grant program is a competitive seed grant program funded by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., and administered by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.

The 2009-2010 program will support research that helps teens make wise relationship choices, explores the effects of disproportionate representation of minority children in welfare, tests a tool to identify successful economic development strategies, determines the impact of poverty in the courts, and examines healthcare and nutrition in Georgia seniors. This research grant program is part of a campus-wide effort to address poverty in Georgia and explore ways that university teaching, research and service can help all Georgians become full participants in the economy.

“We are confident that this research grant program will generate a deeper understanding of persistent poverty and the conditions associated with it,” said Art Dunning, UGA vice president for public service and outreach. “In the long-term, the research initiated under this program will lead to policy solutions that bring about individual wealth creation and community prosperity.”

Russell Gabriel, School of Law, Criminal Defense Clinic; and Ed Risler and Larry Nackerud, School of Social Work; “Poverty in the Courts: Exploring the Impacts of Financial Burden on Poor and Indigent Defendants;”

Tera Hurt, Institute for Behavioral Research, and Ted Futris, College of Family and Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension, “Relationship Smarts Plus in Athens, Ga.: An In-Depth Exploration of Programmatic Impact Among High School Youth;”

Jung Sun Lee, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Foods and Nutrition; Vibha Bhargava, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Housing and Consumer Economics; and Mary Ann Johnson, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Foods and Nutrition; “Poverty, Food Insecurity and Healthcare Utilization in Older Georgians;” and

John C. McKissick, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, “Using the Economic Vitality Index as a Tool for Identifying Successful Economic Development Strategies in Georgia Counties.”